Career opportunities in construction are diverse. With more than 7,500 employees across the country, MDU Construction Services Group employs not only lineworkers, electricians, safety directors and welders, but also accountants, purchasing specialists and human resources professionals – to name just a few.
Construction careers are in high demand, command competitive wages and provide opportunities to learn and grow. Pursuing a career in the trades is often possible without the burden of student loan debt. Many construction careers include paid, on-the-job training.
As employees gain experience, opportunities for advancement abound. A laborer may become an apprentice, earn a journeyman’s license and then move into a field leadership role. Someone in project management may work his or her way into an office leadership position. Associated General Contractors New York State offers a construction career path diagram.
Meet some of our employees who benefited from on-the-job training and have advanced to positions with increasing responsibility.
CJ started out at Rocky Mountain Contractors as a laborer on a directional drilling crew. Today, he is the company’s eastern region telecom manager. He said the telecom trade – like many areas of construction – provides opportunities for a young person coming out of high school who doesn’t know what they want to do to make an honest living and grow into a career.
After studying psychology and economics in college, Kirsten worked for a social and behavioral science research company. Although she enjoyed coordinating logistics and the interactions she had with people, it wasn’t for her.
Her coordination responsibilities resembled project management, and that’s the path she took next. She landed a job at PerLectric as an estimator, learning all about the electrical construction industry. Today she works as a project manager. PerLectric trained her on the job to have the skills and knowledge she needs to be successful in her role.
Nick, an Air Force veteran, joined OEG four years ago as a BIM/CAD operator. Wellenbrock had no experience with BIM or the construction industry. OEG trained him on the job.
While the construction industry has relied upon technical drawings for decades, 3D drawings are relatively new. BIM, or building information modeling, involves the art of taking information from numerous stakeholders and bringing it to life in a 3D digital drawing. Information is then extracted from the drawing to make construction more efficient and accurate.
Ashley was working as a property manager and looking for a change. Her dad, who works in construction management, encouraged her to consider the construction industry. Three years ago, she joined Bombard Mechanical as a project management assistant and worked her way up to project manager. She likes that each day and every project present different challenges. She said it allows her to learn more and keeps her on her toes.
